Back to drawing board for Des Plaines officials

A Chicago-based developer pulled out of plans to build a hotel, parking garage and restaurant on a city-owned parcel near O'Hare Airport.

September 19, 2012|By Jonathan Bullington, Chicago Tribune reporter

Des Plaines officials are retooling a request for proposals after a Chicago-based developer pulled out of plans to build a hotel, parking garage and restaurant on a roughly 5-acre, city-owned parcel near O'Hare Airport.

The Parking Spot, a Chicago-based company with parking properties at 24 airports, canceled the Des Plaines proposal due to Cook County property taxes, city officials said.

"Everything checked out until they honed in on the county's property tax structure," said City Manager Mike Bartholomew. "They weren't able to make it work once they realized the tax structure."

A representative from The Parking Spot declined to comment.

Bartholomew said the company asked for a 50 percent parking tax reduction in the first five years of operations of the planned development and a $1.1 million purchase price for the property, which he said was substantially less than its estimated $4 million price tag.

"They came back and said they needed more," he said. "If they put that proposal forth and we accepted, they should have stuck to their proposal."

City officials expect to put out a new request for proposals on the site, which they call a "perfect location" at the northeast corner of Mannheim and Higgins roads near the airport, Jane Addams Memorial Tollway, Rivers Casino and the Village of Rosemont's entertainment district.

"It's a great location," said Mayor Martin Moylan. "There's a lot of interest in the area."

City officials said they would consider all development options, including leasing the land. But Bartholomew said The Parking Spot's proposal made sense.

"The project they put forth was really a great project for the area," he said. "It had a little bit of everything."

The parcel is in a tax-increment-financing district, which city officials could use as a tool to spur development. If the property remains vacant by 2020, when the TIF expires, it will be $19.7 million in deficit. But Bartholomew said it is unlikely that the parcel would remain vacant for too long.

"We're going to let the private sector tell us what they think should go there," he said. "We're confident we'll get plenty of responses."